1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a rear bow sight for archery. More specifically, the invention is a bowstring mounted rear peep sight formed of clear, preferably acrylic, material.
2. Description of Related Art
Many devices have been developed to help archers and hunters to improve their accuracy. Conventional bowstring mounted peep sights have a small hole therethrough which when lined up with a forward sight pin mounted on the bow may substantially increase the accuracy of the archer. One problem with the conventional peep sight is that the peep sight only allows the archer to see a small spot on the target, and therefore does not allow the archer to easily see where on the target he is aiming. A second problem with the conventional peep sight is that at dusk, or other low light situations, it is extremely difficult to align the peep sight with the forward sight. In the sport of deer hunting, a lot of shots occur at dusk, therefore a conventional peep sight may not be an effective method for improving the accuracy of deer or other game hunters.
Consequently a rear bow sight is needed that allows the archer to align the rear bow sight with the forward pin sight, while remaining focused on the position on the target at which the archer is aiming. The rear bow sight should include an ambient light collecting fiber which acts as a rear transparent sight pin within a sight window. The rear bow sight should have a sight pin that provides an illumination point for alignment with a forward sight in order to set proper aim at a target. The rear bow sight should also include a surface to help contrast the illumination point of the sight pin against the surrounding environment in order to better view the sight pin.
The following are examples of inventions that attempt to achieve some or all of the above goals, yet fail to achieve them as fully and effectively as the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,137,007, issued on Aug. 11, 1992, to Robert C. Shoemake et al. describes a peep sight with interchangeable inserts, each with a different size hole through it so that different field conditions can be covered without having to change and recalibrate the sight. The invention further provides a nocking arrangement that serves to locate the arrow longitudinally on the bowstring while at the same time serving to rotationally orient the peep sight.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,325,598, issued on Jul. 5, 1994, to David D. Hall et al. describes a variable aperture peep sight for bows which includes a peep housing defining a fixed diameter peep hole and a disc receiving slot. The invention also includes one or more aperture reducing discs, formed to fit within the receiving slot, having a peep hole located axially therein to cause the aperture of the peep hole to vary when the discs are inserted into the receiving slot.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,347,976, issued on Sep. 20, 1994, to Charles A. Saunders describes a bowstring mounted peep sight having a relatively large open sight window for ensuring good vision over a substantial field to be surveyed, and a small peep hole for enhanced target accuracy that is fixed in the center of the sight window by several axial ribs.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,379,747, issued on Jan. 10, 1995, to Eddy D. Morris et al. describes a rear peep sight with a large sight window and a device for preventing the sight from twisting during use.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,388,336, issued on Feb. 14, 1995, to Louis F. Pomaville describes a sight system including a forward pendulum sight and a rear peep sight.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,442,861, issued on Aug. 22, 1995, to Paul M. Lorocco describes a sight unit including a pin and holder adaptable for mounting onto the sight assembly of an archery bow and including an elongated length of a light gathering fluorescent fiber defining a lens at its distal end to which gathered ambient light becomes focused to serve as an aiming indicia.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,450,673, issued on Sep. 19, 1995, to Don Denton describes a rotating disk peep sight system including a round disk with a hole punched in the center and sized to receive a bowstring. The disk has one or more holes punched near the rim used as sighting openings.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,495,675, issued on Mar. 5, 1996, to Chaochi Huang describes a laser sight that may be attached to the bow and a view hole attached to the bowstring.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,542,186, issued on Aug. 6, 1996, to Charles A. Saunders describes a bowstring mounted peep sight having a skeletal ring and an interiorly mounted transversely extending frame which defines a peep sight. The areas within the skeletal ring but outside of the peep sight are used for viewing general target areas and the peep sight is used for viewing the specific target area.
French Patent Application Number 1,239,593, published on Jul. 18, 1960, shows a peep sight attached to a sleeve which has the bowstring running therethrough.
The advertisement, `NO SERVE` PEEP, published in Bow & Arrow, in August of 1986, on page 19, shows a peep sight capable of self-locking onto to a bowstring without the need for tying or serving the peep sight into the bowstring.
The brochure, FLUORESCENT PLASTIC OPTICAL FIBERS, published in Optectron, in September of 1991, on pages 1 and 2 shows an example of the ambient light gathering fiber used is weaponry sights.
None of the above inventions, patents or publications describes a transparent rear bow sight with benefits of increased accuracy. Nor do the above describe the benefits of using an ambient light collecting fiber as a rear transparent sight pin in combination with a forward ambient light collecting fiber as a forward sight pin. Furthermore, none of the above describe the use of a surface to help contrast the illumination point of the sight pin against the surrounding environment in order to better view the sight pin. In short, none of the above inventions, patents or publications, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.